The invention relates to a connection element for light profiles intended for use in a sheet pile wall, the connection element having a base strip for attaching to a component of the sheet pile wall and a hook strip provided at the flat side of the base strip for engaging the interlock of a light profile, whereby the hook strip that encloses an inner chamber exhibits a straight connection section that originates at the base strip and runs at least approximately at a right angle to the longitudinal direction of the base strip, and a hook strip that follows the connection section and runs in an arc-like manner for at least 180°, where the end of said hook strip together with the flat side of the base strip define a jaw. The invention also relates to a sheet pile wall made of light profiles and potentially of provided carrier elements, whereby at least two light profiles and/or at least one light profile and one carrier element are connected to each other by such a connection element.
For some time now, sheet pile walls are also erected made of so-called light profiles. Light profiles are sheet piles that—in contrast to conventional sheet piles—are made by cold rolling. Due to the manufacturing process, only sheet piles with relatively thin walls can be manufactured, limiting the production of interlocks for connecting the light profiles to each other or even with other components of the sheet pile wall to simple interlock configurations. The term “other components of the sheet pile wall” refers, among others, to carrier elements, such as I-beams, T-beams, tubular piles and the like, hot-rolled sheet piles or also additional light profiles. To achieve a flexibility when erecting the sheet pile walls that is comparable to conventional sheet pile walls, the inventor of the connection element described here has also developed connection elements that can be used to connect light profiles with differently designed sheet pile wall components, such as carrier elements, for example I-beams, T-beams, tubular piles and similar elements.
With the known connection elements for light profiles as described in EP 1 688 544 A1, the connection element is provided with a hook strip for engaging the interlock of the light profile, where the hook strip exhibits a connection section that protrudes from the base strip of the connection element and that is followed by a hook section that runs 180° in the shape of an arc and with its free end defines a jaw together with the flat side of the base strip. As has been shown that in principle this described basic shape of the hook strip is suited for engaging the interlocks of light profiles. However, light profiles are characterized by a multitude of variations, for example in the wall thickness of the light profiles, such that the known connection elements encountered problems when using connection elements for light profiles made by different manufacturers or with different dimensions.